After finally acknowledging the physical abuse committed by its late father, Johnny Kitagawa, the head of Japan’s largest roll talent agency has resigned.
On Thursday, Julie Fujishima left Johnny and Associates after publicly apologizing to her friend’s patients.
Her departure comes one week after authorities discovered Mr. Kitagawa had” thoroughly” mistreated young idols at his roll company over the course of a six-decade profession.
He passed away in 2019 after consistently denying wrong. He was always accused of anything.
His sister and former CEO Ms. Fujishima first acknowledged the maltreatment on Thursday.
She stated that she and the organization both acknowledge that Johnny Kitagawa engaged in sexual abuse.
” From the bottom of my soul, I apologize to his subjects.”
Some of the patients were seen in localized media watching the news conference, and some of them appeared visibly angry.
Kitagawa, whose firm has had a near-monopoly on Japanese child bands for decades, was arguably the most significant figure in Japan’s entertainment business.
Years of rumors and press coverage of his victimization went unanswered, but nothing was done. The allegations went unreported by the majority of conventional Chinese media for many years, leading to accusations of industry cover-up.
A BBC film about Kitagawa’s abuse was therefore broadcast earlier this year, sparking debate and a call for an exhaustive investigation throughout Japan.
More subjects were also brought forth as a result of the exposé, including J-pop star Kauan Okamato, who claimed he had been sexually abused by Kitagawa since the age of 15.
The community management at the company, according to the final report from separate investigators last week, was to blame for the abuse’s continued persistence for decades, and Ms. Fujishima, a longtime executive in the company, failed to look into the allegations despite being aware of them.
She had expressed sorrow in May that she had grown accustomed to the” abnormalness” of the company’s operations.
